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AT THE 



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LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE I 



OF THE 



ECONOMICAL OBSEEVATORY 



OF THE 



| COLLEGE OP ZTnTZETW* JERSEY, 



JXJJSTE ST, 1866. 



%J PRINTED AT THE DAILY" ADVERTISER OFFICE. 

(] 1867. 

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Q NEWABK N. J.: fl 






A 



ADDRESS 



BY 



PROF. STEPHEN ALEXANDER, LL.D., 



WITH AN 



ACCOUNT OF THE SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS 



AT THE 



LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE 



OF THE 



ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY 



OOLLEG-E OF USTEW JERSEY, 

JUNE 37, 1866. 



NEWARK, K J. 




PRINTED AT THE DAILY ADVERTISER OFFICE, 

£- 1867. 












V 



EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE COLLEGE 
OF NEW JERSEY, JUNE 27, 1366. 



"Resolved, That Professor Alexander be requested to furnish the 
Board with a copy of his Address at the Laying of the Corner Stone of 
the Observatory, to be published in connection with an account of the 
ceremonies connected with laying said corner stone. " 
A true copy. 



E. R. CKAVEN, 

Clerk of the Board. 



A.DDEESS. 



It has been well said of the ancient astronomical 
observations, that they required but eyes, attention, 
patience and time ; and truly with the picture reveal- 
ed to our view from the spot which we propose to oc- 
cupy to-day, we need but the first two of these pre- 
requisites, together with some sense of the beautiful, 
and a heart to feel grateful for the benediction, in its 
own way, which, under these circumstances, is im- 
plied in the very privilege of being able to see. 

Now, the same wonderful emanation, or rather 
influence, which thus pours its glory over the land- 
scape, it is also that which comes to us from the very 
boundaries of the visible creation ; in the one case 
as in the other, that which makes "manifest is 
light." And though poured upon that which is 
(in its own way) the most sensitive organ of the 
human body, with a A r elocity which accomplishes the 
equivalent to a two hundred and fifty days' jour- 
ney by steam in a single second — such is the ex- 
quisite adaptation of the one to the other that, in- 



stead of our being blinded by the glorious influx, 
" truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is 
for the eyes to behold the sun " ; and the exhibition 
of this beautifully simple and natural sentiment, seen 
through the vista of twenty-eight centuries, awakens 
a glad response in our feelings on such a day as this, 
when the mere privilege of sight is itself a benediction. 
Yes, magnificently beautiful and a gladness to be- 
hold is the light, as, entering through the unbarred 
gates of the morning, it gilds with glory the drapery 
of the sky, reveals the grandeur of the distant moun- 
tain-top, and unveils, that it may adorn, the fair face 
of nature; beautiful even and exquisitely delicate, 
as it comes back, all blushing itself, because it has 
kissed the cheek of the blushing rose, or when it ar- 
rays the lily in its robe of spotless white without 
breaking its stem. Even its shreds and patches are 
beautiful, as they sparkle in the diamond or twinkle 
in the dew-drop, or when — with the very colours 
which tip the insect's wing — they paint, without 
breaking it, the merest bubble, or array in all the 
glories of the rainbow, the already half-broken and 
dispersed shower ; but grand, even sublime, are the 
revelations of radiant light, when, availing ourselves 
of that noble present of Optics to Astronomy, the 
telescope — we become endowed with an exterior eye 



7 

of far-reaching and scrutinizing power, and, even 
awe-struck, behold the outer limits of all that is visi- 
ble — limits so distant, that even light, which, as we 
have said, accomplishes a two hundred and fifty days' 
journey by steam in a single second — which, could we 
thus curb its motions, would girdle the earth seven 
times in less"^ than the same brief interval — which 
actually^ rebounds to us from the moon in scarcely 
more than a second and a quarter — and which, spring- 
ing from its home in the sun, visits the most distant 
of the planets and returns in less than a day ; but 
which, though borne " on the verv wino-s of the morn- 
ing," can reach us from those outer limits of which we 
speak, only after the lapse of centuries. Xay more, 
the conclusion can scarce be avoided that light from 
the limits of what the telescope reveals must have left 
them ere the race of man had a being — before God, 
in sublime self-counsel, said, " Let us make man" — 
"breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and 
man became a living soul." Fellow citizens, alumni, 
Mends of science all, shall not a science be fostered 
which can unlock from amid the jewelry of creation 
the indications of a truth such as this. 

We speak not, here and now, of its long concate- 
nation of discoveries — of the grandeur of its field 
of research- — of its widely-grasping and amply satis- 



factory theory — of the improvement of kindred scien- 
ces which it has called for and effected — of its direct 
bearing on human intercourse. Why need we ? 
when its magnificent illustrations have been woven 
into our very literature ; through which they shine 
"like apples of gold in baskets of silver," and when 
even they are made use of by the ordained expositors 
of that wonderful old-fashioned Book, whose ema- 
nations vibrate in exquisite symphony with all that 
is beautiful and grand in nature, not only in the 
direct enunciation, that "the heavens declare the 
glory of God," but also in that exquisite figure, " the 
wings of the morning," as well as in the sublime 
declaration, " He layeth the beams of His chambers in 
the waters, and spreadeth out the heavens as a cur- 
tain" — like a magnificent dome, a vast panoply o'er- 
arching sea and land, and studded with the glories of 
the far distant stars. Have we indeed so looked 
upon it ourselves, and thus comprehended the gran - 
cleur of the magnificent conception ? 

Nor has this simple but magnificent scripture figure 
lost any of its grandeur, but rather gained the more, 
now that we know that the gems that adorn that pano- 
ply are blazing suns. Yes, every step in the progress 
of discovery but tends to the confirmation of the truth 
that the stars are suns. How simple the enuncia- 



9 

tion conveyed in those four words. And yet what 
mean they ? They make known that the tiny ray 
which gladdens our eye, as, shooting from some 
twinkling star, it trembles in the casement, is itself 
a miniature sunbeam ; and the faint and feeble glow 
of starlight, which sometimes, like a semi-transj)arent 
veil, covers the fair face of nature, is woven of the 
scattered glory of thousands of suns. And it is be- 
cause that is but star-light after all, that we are, 
more than by aught else, impressed with the idea of 
the stars' awful distance. Again we say, shall not a 
science be fostered which, aside from all else to com- 
mend it because of its applications, deals with truths 
and associations such as these ? 

And now that Artesian wells have been opened in 
the Great Desert — now, that Egypt is to be revived 
by European emigration- — now, that Turkey is re- 
ceiving not merely the polish of the West, but is al- 
so longing for the scriptures of truth — now, that the 
fragments of the mosaic of beautiful Italy are to be 
reunited — now that imperial Russia has surrounded 
and fortified the throne by municipal institutions— 
now, that an attempted revolution in China, though 
since stained with crime, is yet one which began 
with some recognition of Christianity, as though the 
power which is the " resurrection and the life" of 



10 

nations as well as of individuals, were at least dimly 
discerned — now, when China is m fact receiving in- 
ternational law from America — now, when a transla- 
tion of the Scriptures by Americans is to bring back 
the gospel to the region from whence the gospel 
came — now, when India is indirectly as well as di- 
rectly receiving a Christian influence through Eng- 
lish literature — now, when, in the direct extension of 
the onward march of commercial and civil inter- 
course, the highway of the nations is to be opened 
across our own land, insular in its position, but con- 
tinental in its proportions— now, when the West is 
lengthening its telegraphic communications to meet 
those of the East, and when the electric cord is just 
about to be again extended • from the eastern conti- 
nent to the western — now, when the regenerated Isl- 
ands of the Great Ocean are themselves sending out 
the gospel westward from them until they again 
meet the east — now, when, as in prophetic vision, the 
winds were held so that, for a time, they should not 
blow on the earth, so have the powers of the old 
world been kept at peace, until He who had chastised 
us, had also, through ourselves, wrought out our 
great deliverance — now, when patriotism looks for- 
ward to the future which our fathers' God is opening 
before us with an interest so intense, that the feelings 



11 

which belong to it lie very near to the fountain of 
tears — now, when the adolescent human mind, like 
the individual mind of the youth of nineteen, gives 
abundant indications of what it is hereafter to do, and 
wherewith it is to work — now is pre-eminently the 
time when all that shall render possible and all that 
shall facilitate that work should be hastened and en- 
couraged. 

The Observatory about to be established in con- 
nexion with the College of JNTew Jersey is the result 
of an agreement between its munificent living pa- 
tron,* and his late loved and honored friend and con- 
tributor to the same object. f 

The plan fixed upon, proposes that the observatory 
be armed, for special research, with one of the best 
telescopes which art can furnish, with such other ap- 
pliances as may be indispensable. I\ r o small portion 
of its funds was available a year ago, and the ques- 
tion may, therefore, well be asked, Why has it been 
permitted to be inactive ? The very best answer to 
this is found in the fact that a portion of the income 
of the invested fund was, with the consent of the 
donor, applied in part payment of the expenses of an 
Expedition to observe the Annular Eclipse of Octo- 
ber last, at a station 1200 miles distant. 

* Gen, N. Norris Halsted, t Rev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, D.D. 



12 

The Observatory Fund, then, has already been 
applied to its appropriate use. It has slept as sleeps 
the germinating grain, and I now hold in my hand a 
copy of what is, very probably, the first distinct pho- 
tographic impression of an annular eclipse ever 
made. 

Those who regard themselves as the stewards of 
God's gifts, and manifest the sincerity of this their 
faith by being their own executors, must pardon us 
if we allude to the lesson taught by their example, at 
least so far as to indicate our own appreciation of it 
—and, [turning to Gen. Halsted~] therefore, assum- 
ing to be the mouthpiece of this whole assembly as 
well as of the friends of the College in general, I say, 
Grod bless you, sir. May it please him to prolong 
your valued life, and continue to make you a bless- 
ing in ways which we may not all specify here and 
now. Such, we are persuaded, is the object of your 
most earnest desire and effort. Who shall say that 
it is not a noble one ! 



SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS. 



-:o:- 



After the address in the church, the Trustees, 
Faculty and audience marched to the site on which 
the Observatory is to be built, preceded by the band. 
On arriving, Pres. Maclean addressed the audience, 
saying that all the operations of the Institution had 
been commenced in faith and prayer, and on this 
occasion the same course would be adhered to. 

Prayer was then offered by Pres. Maclean, and the 
following verses of a hymn were sung by the College 
choir : 

" The spacious firmament on high, 
With all the blue ethereal sky, * 

And spangled heavens, a shining frame, 
Their great Original proclaim. 
The unwearied sun from day to day, 
Does his Creator's power display, 
And publishes to every land, 
The work of an Almighty hand. 

Soon as the evening shades prevail, 
The moon takes up the wondrous tale, 
And nightly to the listening earth, 
Repeats the story of her birth : 



14 

While all the stars which round her burn, 
And all the planets in their turn, 
Confirm the tidings as they roll 
And spread the truth from pole to pole." 

The corner stone was then laid by Gen. N". Norris 
Halsted, in Masonic form, in his capacity of Past 
Master of St. John's Lodge, Newark. The order 
was as follows : 

1. The stone was lowered to its place, the band playing. 

2. The plumb, level and square were then applied, and, found correct, 
the work was pronounced well-formed, true and trusty. 

3. From the silver vessels corn, wine and oil were then poured on the 
stone, with these words : " May the great architect above bless the inhab- 
itants of this place with all the necessaries, conveniences and comforts of 
this life ; assist in the erection and completion of this building ; protect 
the workmen against every accident, and long preserve this structure 
from decay ; grant to us all a supply of the corn of nourishment, the 
wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy. May this structure be erected 
for the great advancement of Science and the glory of God. 

4. The stone was then struck thrice with the gavel. 

5. The working tools were next handed to the Superintendent, in- 
structing him to use diligence and caution in superintending and direct- 
ing this work. 

G. Music and the Doxology, 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,. 
Praise Him all creatures here below, 
Praise Him above ye heavenly host, 
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 

7, Benediction. 



APPENDIX. 

In addition to what is to be found in the preced- 
ing Address, and the account of the subsequent pro- 
ceedings at the laying of the corner-stone of the 
observatory, it may be well to indicate somewhat 
more particularly, what has throughout been kept in 
view both in the plan of the observatory, and the 
progress thus far in accordance with that plan. 

As already indicated in the Address, the plan pro- 
poses the acquisition of one very large telescope — 
fully described by saying, that it is to be an achro- 
matic refractor, mounted equatoreally, and with the 
requisite appliances of micrometers &c. and clock- 
work movement. 

Among the advantages of an instrument of this 
great size and perfection are : 

1. Its vast light and power would enable the 
observer to trace features in clusters of stars and 
nebula^, which inferior instruments could not show : 
but which it might be very important to learn, in 
order to the more full understanding of the condition 
and possibly the motion of rotation, or otherwise, of 
such groups or individual masses. 

2. To investigate, by such means, the periodic 
changes of the same. This has just now become a 
matter of grand interest. 



16 

3. To trace comets at a greater distance from the 
sun than inferior glasses could show them. 

4. To scrutinize more accurately the constitution 
of the moon. 

5. Perhaps, with some special fixtures, to ascertain 
the temperature of the moon's surface. 

6. To observe, far better than can be clone with an 
inferior instrument, the individual peculiarities of the 
several planets and of their satellites ; including 
among these such peculiarities as the brightness 
around one pole, and then the other, of Mars, and the 
varied illumination of other parts of his surface — 
the obscure tint of the parts of Venus not in sun- 
shine, and the various changes in the appearance of 
the part illuminated by the sun— all the peculiarities 
of the belts of Jupiter and Saturn — the special phe- 
nomena presented by Saturn's rings — the faint satel- 
lites of the two outer planets, &c, &c. 

7. With a suitable arrangement, to photograph 
even small binary stars, and other celestial objects. 

8. For the spectral analysis of the light of stars 
and that of other celestial objects ; so that their ac- 
tual composition may be determined. 

9. For the better determination of the very curi- 
ous phenomena attendant upon eclipses and the oc- 
cupations of stars and planets. 

10. For similar purposes, during the transits of 
the planets Mercury and Venus. 

11. Another reason why a very large telescope is 
desirable, is itself a cumulative one. Everything in 



17 

the way of instruction in the science of Astronomy 
can be better accomplished by the Professor who is 
in possession of such an instrument as that here de- 
- scribed. 

These are among the reasons why the committee 
on the observatory arc anxious to obtain an instru- 
ment of a very large size, with which an astronomer 
might pursue the investigation of the specialties which 
have been designated, or others not enumerated ; and 
these could be studied by one observer, without the 
relay of assistants required for the execution of ordi- 
nary observatory work. 

The committee, encouraged by the approbation of 
their plan by friends of the College of New Jersey, 
are even looking forward to the acquisition of as 
large an instrument as art can now safelv be entrust- 
ed to produce. Shall the committee be enabled to suc- 
ceed? Will such of the friends of the College as 
can make the answer to this question certainly an 
affirmative one, at once give it that character beyond 
a peradventure ? The arrangements and all the 
construction of the observatory thus far, and all that 
is exhibited in the photograph of the appearance of 
the* observatory when completed, all, presuppose that 
the answer to this question by the friends of the 
fourth college in age in this country, can be no other 
than an affirmative one ; especially now that the cost 
of the observatory buildings has been provided for 
by one munificent donor, and there is the legacy of 
his friend to provide for some other indispensable 
appliances ; so that the great telescope— the cost of 



18 

which will be some $40,000— is what is yet to be 
provided for. 

What the late Rev. Dr. Van Rensselaer's opinions 
with regard to the whole matter, and what his special 
designs and wishes were, may best be gathered from 
the subjoined extracts from the memorial presented 
by himself to the Board of Trustees of the College, 
but a short time before his death, and to which no- 
thing need now be added. 



MEMORIAL 

To the Trustees of the College of New Jersey : 

The undersigned memorialist, a member of your 
body, begs leave to state, that he was prepared to 
present the resolutions appended to this paper, to 
the Board of Trustees at its last meeting, but several 
of the most influential members being absent, and 
the time of meeting being short, he concluded to 
postpone it till the next meeting. He now finds 
himself on a bed of sickness and of approaching 
death. The subject, however, seems to him of so 
much importance, that he does not consider the sol- 
emn circumstances in which he is placed, inconsistent 
with the preparation of this memorial. The subject 

Of it is THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OBSERVATORY IN 
CONNECTION WITH THE COLLEGE OF ]N~EW JERSEY. 

It may be useful to refresh the minds of the Trus- 
tees with a brief statement of the general benefits of 
an observatory to science. 

I. All science is founded on observation : and 
astronomy, which is the grandest of the sciences, is 
entitled to the best sites and buildings. Private in- 
dividuals cannot obtain, from the tops of houses, the 
desired advantages. Organized public effort is ne- 
cessary. 

II. The funds at the disposal of observatories af- 



20 

ford facilities for the purchase of instruments of 
much greater power, variety, range and precision, 
than could be accessible to private individuals. 

III. In observatories many persons are employed 
to do the work otherwise assigned to one ; thus ac- 
quiring for science the benefits of " division of la- 
bor," some of which are enumerated by writers on 
political economy as follows : (1.) Increased know- 
ledge of particular parts assigned to each individual . 
(2.) Increased dexterity, both intellectual and physi- 
cal, in the particular operations connected with the 
science. (3.) Distribution of the different processes, 
so that each shall be assigned to the person whose 
capacity is best fitted for it. (4.) The more accurate 
observations of the phenomena and laws of nature, 
and more scientific and exhaustive deductions from 
those observations. 

IY. The observations and deductions of public 
observatories, being generally of greater accuracy 
and wider scope than those of private observers, 
have more authority in the world, and tend to es- 
tablish the science on a more reliable foundation. 

Y. Intellectual men, lovers of the science, without 
whom progression would be impossible, are enabled 
by the payment of fixed salaries for their support, 
and are induced by the increased facilities for labor? 
and by a laudable ambition for scientific fame, to de- 
vote the whole of their time and talents to the work. 

VI. Observatories educate young men for the 
science. 

VII. Observatories facilitate communication be- 



21 

tween scientific men, by means of published docu- 
ments, acquainting astronomers of one part of the 
earth, with the investigations and observations of 
those of another. 

VIII. By their publicity, and practical utility, ob- 
servatories draw the attention of the public to the 
science, thus paving the way for donations, legacies. 
&c, for its advancement. 

These remarks are deemed sufficient to recall to 
the minds of the Trustees the importance, dignity 
and greatness of the work in which it is proposed to 
engage. 

The question now arises, " Why an observatory 
should be established in connexion with the College 
of New Jersey?" 

Will the Trustees bear with me in listening to 
some reasons for action on their part ? 

I. The ancient history of the College of A T ew Jer- 
sey, the fame of its founders, and its present position 
among literary institutions, demand that it should do 
its share in exploring the works of God, and the won- 
ders of the universe. 

II. An observatory would advance the system of 
instruction in the institution, by uniting practice 
with theory, thus stimulating the minds of the stu- 
dents, both with the grand sights of the heavens, and 
with the majestic instruments which bring them to 
view. 

III. The competition of other colleges, annually 
pressing more and more, requires the Trustees of 
this college to keep progress with the age. If the 



22 

objection be made that there are observatories 
enough, the reply is that there can never be enough, 
whilst there is none at the College of New Jersey. 

IV. Princeton being a central position in the State, 
and on the highest ground between New York and 
Philadelphia, affords one of the finest situations in 
the land for. the establishment of an observatory. 

V. The college possesses, in one of its professors, 
the rarest gifts for taking charge of an observatory. 
A man whose powers of observation are so acute, of 
generalization so extended, of deduction so logical, 
that the observatory of this college mio-ht soon be- 
come the very chief in the country. 

VI. There is money in abundance among the 
friends of the College of 'New Jersey to secure the 
proposed undertaking. Enlarged plans always se- 
cure enlarged resources. The cry of the timid, 
" Where shall we get money ?" always leads to pov- 
erty and failure. Enterprize and energy rightly di- 
rected, never fail of success. 

With these statements, your memorialist submits 
the subject to the Board, humbly praying that they 
may be divinely directed to take such action as will 
best promote the interests of the College and the 
glory of God. 

I am, gentlemen, 

Yours most respectfully, 
CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER. 

By Philip L. V. R. 
Burlington, N". J., June 25th, 1860. 



23 
[POSTSCRIPT.] 

The memorialist, if he had been present at your 
meeting, would have offered the following resolutions 
to bring the matter to some practical test. He now 
appends them to the memorial, and hopes that some 
member of the Board may offer either these resolu- 
tions or others suited to the same purpose. 

1. Resolved, That this Board of Trustees deem it expedient to estab- 
lish a first class observatory, in connexion with the College of New 
Jersey. 

2. Resolved, That a committee, consisting of the President of the 
College, Professor Stephen Alexander, Dr. Hodge, Professor Atwater and 
Dr. Pennington, be authorized to prepare plans ; to propose a location ; 
and to draw up rules and regulations for the organization of the obser- 
vatory ; and they are hereby instructed to report on these points at the 
next meeting of the Board. 



%* These resolutions were adopted by the Board of 
Trustees ; Ex Governor Olden, General N. Morris 
Halsted and Professor John S. Schanck have been 
added to the committee ; the reports of the com- 
mittee, as directed by the second resolution, have been, 
from time to time, submitted to the Board : and the 
construction of the observatory is progressing under 
the Committee's superintendence and control. 



J 



